10 Months

Monday, September 22, 2014

This is real life, you guys.

I tried to get a picture of Lucy Goose smiling because she really is the happiest baby ever (heard that about twenty different times at my little sister's football game on Friday, so you know it's true!), but she doesn't like for us to put her down. Ever. She's in that stage. One can only assume she thought we were going to put her in the crib and run off to Bora Bora without her or something; thus, the tears.

Truth is, though, I kind of think this is the funniest picture ever.

Now that Lucy's first birthday is closing in on us (what the whaaa?), she's changing more rapidly than ever. Even in her seventh month, when she started to crawl and pull herself up and babble more intelligibly, I wasn't quite as thrown off as I have been lately. In a good way. I'm constantly amazed by what she picks up and how quickly she learns.

Lucy is slowing way down on the bottles now and eating three meals a day. For awhile, she had been eating a whole bunch of pureed fruits and veggies (sometime with a bit of quinoa or turkey mixed in), but now we're making the transition to whole foods so she can get a better grasp (see what I did there?) on feeding herself. Breakfast usually consists of some rice cereal mixed with pureed fruit, sliced bananas, or yogurt. Bottles come every 3 hours except for when it's "meal time". Lunch is a tray full of one or more of these things: black beans, chopped fruit or veggies, cheerios, cottage cheese, shredded cheese, or yogurt. Same with dinner, though we've started adding bits of pasta with olive oil to her plate and, after three tries, she finally decided it was worth her time. Lucy is a wonderful eater, but she tends to really favor sweet things (she is a Nunnery, after all). We do our best to feed her plain or savory flavors first at every meal and follow up with the sweets so she doesn't get too attached to them. If she doesn't like food, she usually eats it anyway but makes the cutest faces while doing so...

At Lucy's last appointment, she weighed in 21.5 pounds and is 28.5 inches long! Our pediatrician asked, "Can you believe we ever worried about this girl gaining weight?" I'm so glad she's healthy and growing. And I'm completely over my guilt about giving Lucy formula to supplement nursing. It's clear that she's developing incredibly well both mentally and physically, and while environmental influences - like reading with her, talking to her, signing, being playful, getting outside, being affectionate, having a routine, and giving Lucy the chance to explore new things every day - are probably the biggest boost for her little brain, having formula in addition to breast milk seems to have given our girl a wonderful start to life. And I'm grateful for all of it. The boobs and the bottles. The laughter and the fun. The cuddles and the tears. It's all so, so good.

Favorite Toys: Books, her remote (an old TV remote we let her have since she was always trying to chew on ours), blocks, anything that rattles or makes noise, the tin box that holds her toys, and Lamby (a little stuffed lamb she sleeps with).

Likes: Being held, bath time, playing and being silly, standing up, crawling, talking, blowing raspberries, "reading" her books, being outside, going on walks, being around lots of people or new places, people watching, sleeping, charming the pants off everybody

Dislikes: Being put in her crib for play time, having her diaper changed, being put down for too long, skipping nap time, loud, sudden noises

Teeth: 4 (with a little gap between the top two! #SWOON)

New Milestones: Can stand up on her own without support (see video below!), starting to sign "Mama", Says "Mama" and "Dada" and recognizes that those words describe me and Pierce, imitates new words (duck is "duh", block is "bah", dog is "dah", necklace is "neh ka", etc.), gives high-fives, blows kisses, understands commands like "Lucy stop" (though she doesn't always obey), "Do it again", "Blow kisses!", "High five!", "Be gentle", and "Say bye bye!"

Wendi Nunnery is the author of The Best Kept Secret young adult series. She writes about the messiness of life and sometimes uses colorful language. She's also a big fan of Jesus, coffee, and Harry Potter. Wendi lives, loves, and mothers in Atlanta, Georgia.

About Me

Wendi Nunnery is the author of The Best Kept Secret young adult series. She writes about the messiness of life and sometimes uses colorful language. She's also a big fan of Jesus, coffee, and Harry Potter. Wendi lives, loves, and mothers in Atlanta, Georgia.